


A different kind of trial.

by EdgyMcEdgeface



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters: Sun & Moon | Pokemon Sun & Moon Versions
Genre: Albinism, Angst, Anxiety, Author Is Sleep Deprived, Cat Lover Kuchinashi | Nanu, Childhood Memories, Depression, Eventual Relationships, Not Beta Read
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-14
Updated: 2020-12-21
Packaged: 2021-03-08 00:35:53
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 9,149
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26976721
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EdgyMcEdgeface/pseuds/EdgyMcEdgeface
Summary: Nanu was a strange child - albino, rarely speaking, with a love of dark types - and slowly growing more and more distanced from his family. It seems a dark cloud always follows him, and he's grown so used to the shade that the tiniest bit of light seems blinding.Only after he gains his new family does he begin to understand why.(hi all, sorry for not updating in so long. will try to start again soon)
Relationships: Other Relationship Tags to Be Added
Comments: 17
Kudos: 25





	1. Crocodile Tears

**Author's Note:**

> sorry if this doesnt make much sense. will edit as this goes along.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nanu gets in a bit of a pickle, an absol finds him, and he meets his sandile's mother. 
> 
> All three things would scare an adult, but he's a depressed eight year old who's already disillusioned with the world.
> 
> The only thing that scares him is the thought of his pokémon getting hurt, or deciding they didn't want to be his friend anymore. 
> 
> Because that would mean he'd be alone, and he doesn't like where his thoughts go when he's alone.

* * *

The rain pelted down with harsh fury, fuelled by the stiff and bitter wind, and Nanu didn't think he'd ever been so scared. His meowth had decided it was time to play an extended game of hide and go seek, which had lasted until the murkrow had started flying. 

His own murkrow had not joined the massive flock that was currently blocking out what little light was still in the sky, sticking close by it's frightened trainer. 

A sudden crack of lightning carved its way through the air and slammed into the sand barely ten metres ahead of him, painting the pitch black desert in a blinding white light. In the corner of his eye, he saw the figure of a dog-like pokemon, a large curved horn framing its face. An absol.

He let out a tiny whimper on accident, wishing his meowth was willing to come out of her ball.

It wasn't the fact that it was an absol, he wasn't dumb enough to believe what his grandparents said about them, but still...

The pokémon slowly moved towards him, feet somehow barely making noise in the puddles of muddy water staining it's pristine fur.

Nanu held out a shaky hand, knowing his murkrow wouldn't let anything happen to him, and waited for the absol to press it's forehead against it. Instead, it's horn was pushed into his palm, fingers curling around it without really thinking. The absol stared deep into his eyes, analysing. Weighing up its options.

A beat passed. Two. Three. He felt anxiety creep up his throat.

The absol pulled its horn away, eyes trailing to the left. It let out a low growl that Nanu couldn't hear over the wind. If he squinted hard enough, he could make out red and black scales caked in mud and sand.

Today was _really_ not a good day.

"Are you Sunglass' mum?" It was a long shot, but krookodiles were dedicated parents. The absol glanced to Nanu, eyes blank.

The krookodile rose out of the ground, sand falling off in clumps in a way that somehow made Nanu even more scared.

He reached for Sunglass' ball, letting the sandile out with a wince. Sunglass cried out at the damp cold of it's surroundings, desperately looking for cover, and was immediately grabbed him with the krookodile's short arms.

The absol looked distantly at the unfolding situation, patiently watching the two crocodilians chatter to eachother.

* * *

**"Mama! Mama! Cold, it's cold!" Sunglass cried from under his mother's snout,**

**"Where have you been?" She replied, voice a mix of concern and rage that combined as well as oil and water, Sunglass whimpered at a sudden gust of wind.**

**"Let me go back to Nashi, it's cold!"**

**"...You want to be with the boy?" His mother asked quietly, disbelievingly,**

**"...Is he a good friend?"**

**"Yes! The best! Please, mama, cold!" Sunglass felt his strength beginning to drain out of him, hoping foolishly that Bulu would cease the rain and wind.**

**"Mama! _Please!_ " The wind kicked up and Sunglass could have sworn to the abundant one that his scales were being ripped from his skin.**

**His mother held him tightly for an eternity, then in a second he was in his trainers warm, soft, arms. She growled fondly, but painfully.**

**"I'll miss you, visit us."**

**Sunglass could do nothing but crackle in agreement, absorbing as much body heat from his trainer as possible.**

* * *

Sunglass' mum looked so torn about giving up Sunglass that Nanu almost considered releasing him, but then the sandile burrowed into his neck, and his murkrow extended a wing to help shelter him, and Nanu knew that would never happen. 

The krookodile stared at him in agony before dropping to it's stomach and swimming away in the heavy sand. The absol let out a low growl once more, but infinitely more gentle. Nanu heard it this time.

"Absol... can you take us out of the desert? I'll buy you something from the nearest pokécentre." Nanu said, coughing from the sudden rush of air directed into his lungs. He decided that the cold sucked Bulu and vowed to never train any ice types.

* * *

— About an Hour Later —

* * *

The absol left soon after Nurse Joy had ensured Sunglass wasn't hurt by the weather in the desert, rubbing his soft fur along Nanu's thigh as goodbye. 

"-Honestly, bringing sandile out in the rain! Being in the rain without a coat! Are you daft?"

"Not my fault. Was in Haina. Rained from nowhere." The nurses sharp features softened a touch, and she shoved an ice heal into his hand.

"This one's on the house, and it's the only one on the house. Buy the rest yourself like an actual trainer."

"Will do." The pink fluid sloshed around the container, catching his meowth's eye and getting scratched enthusiastically.

Nurse Joy huffed and went back to her business.

Nanu set the ice heal on the counter and leaned against it, eyes drifting shut. It was so, so late. Though he was still wet and shivering, he couldn't help but feel warm as Sapph curled up on the nape of his neck, Subglass splayed out on his crossed arms, and Boss resting a wing over his eyes. 

* * *

He woke up early into the morning with a sore neck and a blanket on his back. It was pastel pink. Worn away and soft from years of use. Nurse Joy was looking firmly away from him, ignoring the gift she had given him. Her hair perfectly matched the blanket. Nanu stretched with a yawn, and bolted out of the door.

_What the hell was he thinking?_

That was quite possibly the dumbest thing he's ever done - any number of things could have happened to him. Not to mention how rude it was to the staff, staying over without even asking and getting water everywhere. Hot shame began to work it's way up Nanu's face, burning a bright red that almost glew in comparison to his pale skin.

The sun only just beginning to rise, sky a beautiful mix of peach, pink, and blue that rippled across the rising tide and rolling waves. Boss cawed at it in wonder, thinking about the story his trainer told him about the boy who flew too close to the sun, and fully understood why he did so. Nanu stood with Boss for a moment, taking in the sight. It was weirdly... inspiring.

Zinnia and Cyclamen were probably in the library already, fawning over the vast amount of knowledge at their fingertips.

It was likely they were nosedeep in a book on Sinnohan floriography, trying to figure out every possible meaning of Nanu's surname and then bullshitting that into an explanation of why he was the way he was ( _Kuchinashi means secret love and thats why you never show affection!_ ).

Then, they'd get fake upset when he points out the meaning behind their own names, pretending to feel betrayed and collapsing into eachothers arms. 

Honestly, the fact that those idiots had yet to realise the crush they had on eachother was mutual was enough evidence to prove that they didn't have brains, or at least very smooth and small ones. Smart as komala, they were.

As the prince, Nanu technically wasn't allowed to make fun of Cyclamen for being an idiot, but he did anyway because he was stupid and deserved to know.

Cyclamen took it all in good health, fortunately, and never told his parents about the weird albino kid who told him that he wished he would act like his type specialty and just die already whenever Cyclamen dared smile at the world.

How _could_ he smile at the world? ...Nanu knew he wasn't supposed to know about them yet, but how could anyone smile in a world where nuzlocke rings exist? He'd asked his parents that, once, and had gotten two blankly horrified looks in return.

He'd stopped asking people questions a while ago. They usually made people upset or angry, so now he keeps them locked up in his head and gives himself the answers whenever he, Zinnia and Cyclamen would raid the library in Malie City.

One question he'd never been able to answer for himself is 'why'. It was a vague question, so he had expected a vague answer. Instead... nothing. Just 'why, what?' He never knew what. Or why. Or anything, really, because everything was nothing and that meant anything was _**nothing** and sweet bulu **he can't breath-**_

Sapph pawed at his cheek, distressed 'maaoooowwwww' drowning out the intense... alarm...? that suddenly appeared. Nanu gave a tiny not-quite-smile and ran fingers around the shiny gold coin on her forehead. Content purring reverberated throughout his body, melting away the tension in Nanu's joints like a blowtorch on an ice cube.

Zinnia and Cyclamen were expecting him in the library. The thought of keeping up a friendship as the annoying third wheel who never spoke didn't sound too appealing today... but it was better than being alone.

Mentally changing the subject, Nanu quietly hoped that Sunglass would evolve soon, so he wouldn't have to walk so much. He was short, walking around the biggest island in the region was a hassle, his complaints were valid! He also hopes his tenth birthday comes two years early so he could use public ride pokemon without an adult (and hopefully register his own pokemon as private rides).

Malie City couldn't appear soon enough, and the library was supposed to be closed today, but Cyclamen was the prince - which meant that didn't matter as he pushed the door open.

"Alola! Where have you been? Zinnia picked out a book on dark types just for you!" Cyclamen called out as soon as the door creaked. Sapph leapt out of his arms to greet the boy's own meowth, Regal, who was delighted to meet it's best poké-friend.

"Passed out in a pokécentre after nearly drowning in Haina, you?" Cyclamen winced and patted the floor besides him. Haina never rained, but when it did, it rained _hard_ to match Bulu's rage. Only now did Nanu think about what made Bulu so mad.

The aformentined book on dark types was what an adult would describe as too advanced for someone his age, which meant it was challenging enough to keep him interested, but easy enough that he didn't give up after the first page. Zinnia had figured out the balance after the second time the three of them met in the library, and Nanu would be eternally grateful for it.

Boss remained perched on his shoulder, reading the book title and squawking in excitement when he realised what it was about. The murkrow was by far the best reader out of Nanu's team - which was to be expected, bird pokémon were known for intelligence, as were dark types. Being both, it was no wonder Murkrow and their evolution formed organised gangs.

...Maybe societies would be a better word? Colonies? No, durants and combee formed colonies, not Murkrow, which formed murders and deaths, words which didn't work for the type of group Nanu was thinking about.

Ugh, why were word nuances so hard to figure out?

Deciding to ignore the frustration he was giving himself, Nanu picked up the book and opened it, skimming through the first paragraph.

It seemed Zinnia had outdone herself again - the book was factual and detached and bleak and _perfect_. Nanu wondered how much it would cost to just buy it from the library.

He remained perfectly still for hours, time slipping away as he became completely immersed, his only link to reality being Boss' caws indicating when he didn't understand a word or when he was finished with the page. Nanu was in the zone, and nothing could bring him out of it until his brain decided that was allowed to happen.

* * *

"Y'know, I wouldn't be surprised if he ended up being a psychic type trainer. That thirst for knowledge just screams psychic." Zinnia murmured to Cyclamen, who hummed thoughtfully,

"But psychic types don't fit his vibe."

"No reason he can't double as dark and psychic. Are you finished with that yet?" Zinnia gestured to the books on both their laps, fallen shut during their time watching Nanu switch from vaguely interested to If-You-Interupt-Me-Im-Commiting-Treason, and Cyclamen wordlessly swapped them.

"...Music theory? No offense, Cyclamen, but you don't have a musical bone in your body." 

Cyclamen rolled his eyes and pointed to the boy sitting next to them. Nanu hid it surprisingly well, for reasons beyond both of them, but he had an inner passion for music, and his weirdly deep voice was pleasing to listen to when he absentmindedly hummed songs.

"It's so I can actually understand him when he talks about music and stuff like that? You know how he gets when we don't get him."

Shutting down when he realised neither of them knew what he was talking about, mumbling apologies for being annoying and not speaking until the day after. It happened less and less often as time went by, but the days it did happen were the worst. Nanu tried his best not to let it happen - by never speaking about things he liked. So there was no risk.

"Ohh, right... still, you should leave music theory to me, considering I'm not tone deaf like you. You need to stick to politics like the weirdo you are."

" _Hey,_ I'm the prince, I have to know politics! It's interesting!" Cyclamen regretted that last sentence as soon as it left his mouth, Zinnia's expression turning extremely judgemental as she side-eyed him.

"See? Weirdo." She said to her eevee, Tuft, who yipped in agreement. The little fox may not know what politics was, but the people around her always looked annoyed when the word was brought up, so it was bad.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nanu's team:  
> Sapph, Meowth ♀️  
> Sunglass, Sandile ♂️  
> Boss, Murkrow ♂️


	2. Absol the babsol

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nanu tries to find the absol who helped him im Haina, and makes a new friend in the process.
> 
> A/N: Ten hits!!! And a kudos!!!!! Tysm everyone <333

Ignoring the ache in his joints and the dark cloud above him, Nanu pushed forward. His rucksack was a dead weight behind him, slowing him down. Damn it, why couldn't he be bigger? Big people could walk faster!

The cold air froze in his throat and lungs, making breathing a weirdly tiring yet refreshing task. Like a cup of mint tea.

Looking around as he walked, he sometimes saw an absol, but none of them came to him. Hopelessness and disappointment began forming in his stomach - what if he couldn't find the absol that helped him? The thought of it made him want to curl up into a ball out of embarrassment.

There were probably a thousand camouflaged pokémon laughing at his idiocy. He felt so _stupid_. Nanu felt his already flushed face turn as red as his eyes. The constant wrong feeling that followed him was growing fast and out of control.

By the tapu, what was he doing? Stomach churning, he looked behind him. His footprints were already gone. A vulpix was curiously sniffing at where they were supposed to be, sending a happy noise his way. 

He was too tired to go back right now.

Nanu managed to find the cave at some point in between a panic attack and passing out from exhaustion, falling back against the icy wall with a weary sigh. Everything felt wrong. His breath felt wrong. His chest felt tight. 

He reached to let out his team before remembering how cruel that would be to them. Coming from a peaceful slumber into a below-zero room housed by some of the strongest pokémon in Alola... no. Just no.

"Why did I come here?" He asked himself, contemplating never leaving the cave in the back of his mind. He would freeze to death, just some dumb kid who thought he knew anything about the world. One less burden on his everyone's shoulders.

His throat was doing the thing where it felt like someone had wrapped barbed wire around his neck and yanked it. He sort of wished that was literally happening, despite how horrifying the thought was.

A tiny grumble brought Nanu from his thoughts, red eyes snapping open to find a tiny, fluffy blob of white. Wide round eyes stared up at him in confusion.

"Rrrr?" The blob asked him, not happy about the weird new visitor confusing it. It tilted its head to the side, revealing a blunt nub beginning to poke out of its face.

A baby absol. Somewhere between newborn and toddler status, in human terms. Nanu's face broke into a wide grin before he could stop it.

"Mrr _rnn_?" It took a few wobbly steps forward on its fat little legs and Nanu could feel his heart stopping as it made its way towards him.

He reached into his rucksack and brought out the bag of pokétreats he had packed. They were meant for the absol that had helped him, but how could he not give some to the puppy?

The puppy gave a happy whine at them being taken out, clumsily bounding forward. It was strange that it was so.. _growlithe_. They must get the signature detached elegance as they grew up. Nanu was like that as a baby... maybe? He couldn't really remember, being an infant and all. His family said he used to _smile so much_ and that he needed to start smiling again.

He wondered what they'd say if they say, if they saw him grinning like an idiot over an _absol_. The scenario played out in his mind, and Nanu's smile grew ever wider.

—

Soon after the puppy began going to town on the pokétreats, Nanu noticed the two grown absol from earlier making their way over, a few more puppies in tow.

They paused just before his feet, sniffing curiously at the air. This was his chance.

"Hey... yesterday, I was training in Haina and it started pouring it down out of nowhere, an absol helped me out. Do you think you could find the one who helped me?"

Wild pokémon didn't really understand human language well, only knowing a few move names as a whole, and it showed in the absol's faces. Heads tilted in confusion, Nanu slapped both of his hands on his face.

He remained still for a few minutes, contemplating if bringing out Boss would be worth it. 

The puppy tugged on his legs, forcing Nanu to open his eyes again. His hands fell unceremoniously into his lap, and the puppy gained a determined look. It took a running (stumbling) leap, landing face first in the nook of Nanu's right knee. 

It stood up with all the stability of a newborn mudsdale, and then one step forward before it dropped right before his chilly palms.

A rough, light pebble thing was plopped into his hand. The puppy rubbed its not-quite-horn on the side of his hands and along his index finger. One of the treats... Oh...

"I-"

Nanu cut himself off as his voice shook, bottom lip trembling, fingers curling around the treat. His hands were gloved, but he's sure his knuckles were somehow even whiter than usual from how tight his grip was.

He felt his shoulders begin to tremble.

Arceus... a puppy giving him a treat that he bought was making him cry... Nanu can't bring himself to feel pathetic as he brought the puppy into a firm hug.

It's tiny bat-wing tail wagged violently as Nanu cried, tiny tongue licking away the rolling tears in a way that made his face even more wet.

Opening his eyes, he saw that the absol were retreating, leaving the puppy entirely to Nanu. For a moment, he felt angry that they were so willing to abandon a baby that hadn't even learned to be cautious of humans yet, but then he remembered that wild pokemon tended to communicate in sounds that human ears couldn't pick up, and that plenty of reptilian pokemon didn't even look after their children once they hatched, and the anger melted away despite the icy surroundings.

Nanu squeezed his eyes shut, forcing the rest of his tears out, then reached into his rucksack. Blindly rummaging around as he jept his eyes firmly locked onto the puppy, his hands finally found it.

Bringing out an Ultra ball, he held it infront of the puppy's face,

"Would you... like to be my friend?" The puppy batted a paw against the button in the balls centre, becoming a ball of light and zipping into it. The lack of weight on his chest felt weird.

The ball shook once, twice, three times, and then stayed still for a painfully long moment, before sending a single vibration throughout Nanu's hand and wrist.

He immediately opened the ball, the puppy flopping into his lap. It sat up as best it could, looking into Nanu's red eyes with its own equally unnerving ones.

"What am I gonna call you...?" It tilted it's head, pretending to understand human language.

"...Baize, you're name is Baize."

'Baize' simply gave a tiny 'mrr' and stumbled forward, standing on it's hind legs, practically begging for a hug - and Nanu obliged.

"Hey, buddy, let's get down from this mountain, and you can meet your new family, yeah?" Baize barks loudly, but quiet in a way only an absol could pull off, and Nanu scoops him up, cradles him in his arms, and they set off back down to civilisation.

* * *

The trek back down from Lanakila was long and hard, and Nanu nearly collapsed about five hundred times during, but he and Baize make it eventually. Nanu brings out the rest of his team once they're at the base, the three delighted yet cautious of their new companion.

Exhausted, Nanu remembers he has school tomorrow, and that he has not even touched his homework. Hopefully spending his weekend in a pouring it down Haina and climbing Lanakila to find a random absol that helped him would be a good enough excuse...

......

...........

Yeah, no.

He stops by his house just to pick up the untouched, unread worksheets and his pencil case, then sets off to the nearest pokécentre. Doing homework in the same building his parents is a nightmare, and even though they're at work, the heavy, judgemental weight they force into the atmosphere destroys his motivation well enough to not want to be there regardless.

The risk of falling asleep in a pokécentre again is worth not having to put up with it.

Nanu appears through creaky doors like a sableye appears in a Kahuna's home, scrounging for z crystals like a rabid houndour. Nurse Joy huffs at his presence, ready to take his mons off of him in lieu of a lunch break.

"Um. No healing. Just," Nanu holds up Baize to the nurses face, "Healthy?"

"What? Is that- How did you-"

" ** _Healthy_**?" Nanu doesn't have the time to deal with stupid phobias right now, he needs to know if his new friend was healthy. Homework could wait.

...What if Baize's horn isn't supposed to be so small and he had a defect? What if the defect affected the rest of him, and thats why it's so small-

Baize is gently taken from his hands, and studied by Nurse Joy's steely eyes, experienced touches testing possible issues and giving clear results only to her.

"Your absol has no apparent defects or injuries that I could find, but it might be worth going to an actual vet. Pokécentre's aren't equipped for this sort of stuff, kid."

"Thanks." Baize is back in his arms, and Nanu slips away into the corner of the room, sitting down and bringing out his homework from his bag. Pencil in hand, dutifully chewed up by Sapph, he began working through it.

So many subjects, so little time...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nanu's current team  
> Sapph, Meowth. ♀️ Ace.  
> Sunglass, Sandile. ♂️ Can battle.  
> Boss, Murkrow. ♂️ Can battle.  
> Baize, Absol. ♂️ Can't battle as of yet (is a baby).


	3. Instability

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nanu starts his island challenge early, thanks to a certain Tapu.
> 
> AN: fourtern hits!!!!!! 🥺🥺🥺 thank you all so much, I didn't expect this to get more than one hit, let alone a kudos! The person who left a kudos was a guest so i cant thank them personally, but I'll feel bad if i dont so... thank you for leaving a kudos Mr/Mr's Guest!

Unlike last week, the Haina desert was full of the intense heat it usually had, and Nanu couldn't be happier. Now he and his team could train in peace... is what he would sat if he wasn't currently boiling in his own skin.

Baize watched intently as the rest of his team silently walked him through different dark type moves. Nanu remained curled up under a dead, hollowed out tree. It was too hot to be up and running, and a gible had snatched what little sunscreen and water he did have a while ago. Going out into the sun was a death sentence.

 _What possible use could a gible have for sunscreen?_ He thought numbly.

Nanu occasionally gave grunts of encouragement or constructive criticism from his spot underneath the tree, but that soon devolved into him trying to remain awake in the sweltering heat.

He was in the shade, but the air around him was still hot as Moltres' flames. He was so hot that he didn't even notice his team crowding around him in concern, or when they all took off in different directions in search of water. Baize stayed behind, digging its horn into the cool-ish sand all the way into the boiling grain.

When he did eventually notice, and a detached fear overcame him, Nanu rose to his feet - much to quickly, apparently, as white, purple, black, and gold over took his vision in dots, stripes, and ripples as he immediately fell forwards - all sense of reality escaped him.

He was floating in a void and balance did not exist until he slammed against the scorching ground. The sun beat down on him, holding Nanu down even though he could barely muster up the energy to breath.

The world began to swim and twist around him, but then what he assumed was a cloud protected him from the sun. Baize grumbled in confusion and then gave a startled, scared noise as it hid behind Nanu's limp body.

Nanu let out a low groan at the sudden cool, placing a shaky hand on the ground and pushing weakly, gaining just enough momentum to roll over and make his back slam against the rapidly cooling sand.

The tree was now alive, lush green leaves framing bundles of berries in a way that reminded him of Galarian mixed trees, but it couldn't be a mixed tree, because he was in Ula'Ula and not Galar's wild area.

But then he looked past the healing tree, and saw exactly why Baize got so startled.

Tapu Bulu, looking down at him as flowers began to bloom at the base of the tree. Nanu was definitely hallucinating... but Baize saw Bulu too, and Absol didn't get heatstroke as easily as humans no matter how young they were...

"...What?"

"Buuuuuuuuu!" A sudden, refreshing wind kicked up, ripping the berries from their branches and making them splatter on the ground. One berry, a persim, landed directly in his mouth. Bulu let out a happy noise that translated to 'woop!' in Nanu's mind, celebrating it's good aim.

Nanu raised himself into a sitting position with unstable arms, almost fainting from the effort. Bulu twirled around in the air and began flying about the place.

The berries boiled in the sun outside of the shade, bringing a strange mix of scents into the now still air. It was surprisingly pleasant... refreshing.

Three familiar sounds rang out from different directions, and Nanu reached for all of his pokéballs and opened them at once. A trio of blinding, flickering light beamed towards the balls, gathering into shaggy messes before retreating into the black and yellow spheres. Then, he opened them again, bringing out his team.

While Boss immediately flew up to the young branches and nestled between the leaves, and Sapph climbed the still-growing trunk, Sunglass merely dropped onto the ground and began soaking up it's remaining heat.

Bulu rose up high above Nanu, tail swinging lively as the Tapu turned into black and red dot in the sapphire sky. Then, a dark grey, rock like object began falling, and for a split second Nanu's heart stops, praying to Arceus that it wasn't poop. After the split second ended, the object landed with a thud in the ground, sending sand flying into the air.

A beat passes, then Nanu's barely functioning brain catches up and he recognizes it as a sparkling stone.

"...What?" He says again, and only just, reaching over to lift it up. It's heavy, and in dire need of refining, but it was a _sparkling stone_. Only worthy trainers get those, and Nanu is admittedly **not** that, so his melted brain stares at it for a while, struggling to figure out the reason behind it being there.

He looks up, and Bulu is gone, a black speck in the distance, and the tree is starting to wither again.

He looks to his team, "We should probably go home."

...Home... Nanu did not have a home. He had a bedroom in a house full of people who pretended to understand him and got mad when he didn't play into the role they wanted him to. He did not have a home.

Nanu does not say this on the slow walk 'home', nor does he say anything to his parents as he trudges up to his room. Sapph leaps up onto his bed, followed by Baize, and Boss flies over to his perch on the meowth tree.

Sunglass runs over to his bed/playpen/kiddie pool filled with sand and burrows borrow underneath it.

Nanu ignores them in favour of sitting at his desk, bringing out a pile of books of various subjects and genres. With a deep breath, he starts reading, and feels the constant _**No**_ feeling that surrounds him and chains him to the ground and makes life hard ease up a little.

Only a little, but it's something.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nanu's team:  
> Sapph, meowth ♀️  
> Sunglass, sandile ♂️  
> Boss, murkrow ♂️  
> Baize, absol ♂️


	4. Enter Hala

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nanu visits Melemele, bumps into a fighting type trainer who he absolutely does not have a crush on, and gets his sparkling stone checked by Melemele's Kahuna
> 
> He also attracts the attention of Tapu Koko, who's heard all about him from Bulu, apparently.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Its getting impossible to list everyone so just.  
> Thank you for 76 hits, 16 kudos, 5 comments, and 2 bookmarks.
> 
> im exhausted rn sorry for the lackluster note idk

Melemele was by far the most _Alola_ of the four islands, Nanu thought as he watched said island get closer and closer on the ferry. Looked like a postcard, is what he heard is parents describe it as, and he can't say he disagrees with them (for once).

The sparkling stone pulls at his joggers, and he wonders for the umpteenth time why he wears them instead of shorts that dont threaten to fall down at the slightest hint of weight. Oh, right, for his own peace of mind.

He focuses on his joggers in favour of the stares he's getting, which mainly focuse on his paper white skin and hair but then shift to him clearly being younger than ten and on a ferry to a different island, alone.

Whispers and gossip accompany the stares, and his joggers fail to distract him from random strangers assuming his entire life story and getting it so wrong yet so _right_ that it _hurts._

He glares at the water below and at the stupid fish pokemon and wishes he never got on the damn ferry.

At some point (Nanu lost track of the time), the ferry docks, and Nanu gets off of it as soon as humanly possible. He starts a b-line to Iki town, and only stops when Baize complains about sore paws or Sapph demands attention right that very second.

The kahuna lives in Iki town, if he remembers right - something tells him he's wrong about that, but he ignores it because he usually gets a bad feeling about the stuff he does.

Sapph runs ahead of them all, looking for pokémon to battle so she could brag about her strength. Baize follows like a ducklett behind a swanna, giving yips of encouragement as she squares up at every pokémon she sees.

Nanu's bad feeling is getting worse, so he brings Baize into his ball and tells Sapph to jump into his arms. She happily complies, from where she is, delighted to get an opportunity to show off her leg muscles. He didn't know why she was feeling so vain today... maybe he wasn't giving her enough attention...

Guilt forms in his stomach and makes it sink like a heavy rock in water, and he just. Stops walking. Fingers gently curl into Sapph's fur, rubbing in slow circles. This was exactly why he was confused about Bulu giving him a sparkling stone, he couldn't even give a _meowth_ enough attention. That didn't really scream 'worthy trainer' in Nanu's mind.

Logically, he knows it's stupid to get so upset over his meowth, which are known for being vain, showing off more than normal, but he does anyway because he's stupid and a bad trainer and-

A crackle of electricity interrupts his spiralling thoughts, and he looks up to see a black body, framed with yellow wood.

What is it with Tapu's visiting him?!

Tapu Koko hovers in front of him, lightning radiating off of it and making Nanu's hair stand on end.

"Let me guess, you want a battle? I cant even use Z moves, you'll be better off finding a worthy trainer." Koko tilts their head, eyes lingering on the sparkling stone sticking out of his pocket. 

Nanu squirms under the gaze, Sapph placing shy paws over her coin, before sighing tiredly and dropping Sapph into a battle stance.

Baize's ball shook with excitement, and Nanu decided to at least try, for him. 

"Alright, Sapph, use Fake Out." Sapph gave a happy growl, darting forward to swipe at Koko's chest. Koko, ever the graceful opponent, pretends to flinch,

"Now use scratch." Sapph drags her long nails across Koko's wooden casing, leaving a barely visible dip as splinters work their way into Sapph's soft paw pads.

Koko slammed it's casing together, sparks of electricity arching and surrounding it. The casing seperates, and lighting is dancing acrosd Koko's tar black skin. It rushes forward, collides with Sapph, forcing all the electricity into her golden coin and making her cry out. Nanu holds back a scream, knowing deep down that the Tapu are generally merciful and would not permanently harm or kill a pokemon in a friendly battle, but the sound Sapph makes...

He never wants to hear it again. The meowth drops, twitching on the ground. Nanu recalls her and sends out Sunglass,

"Use crunch!" Sandile were ground type, Koko was electric type, he reminds himself as his heart hammers in his chest. 

Sunglass rushes forward and clamps his jaw down on Koko's sort-of legs, causing a stray bolt of lightning to be shot into the sky. It scatters in the clouds above, ones moving towards Ula'Ula. 

Nanu resists the urge to facepalm. If his sandile just caused a thunderstorm after last weeks debacle in Haina... He doesn't know what he'll do, probably nothing, but the annoyance remains in spite of that.

Sunglass lets go of Koko, getting a Shock Wave that bounces right off of his scales. 

"Ko~~h.....!" The deity cries, shoving it's casing towards Sunglass' snout. If he remembered right, the only non-electric attack Koko knew was False Swipe, so he just has to figure out how to escape the predicament that Sunglass was in.

The casing holds Sunglass' mouth shut, leaving the reptile pinned into the ground - the krookodile line just weren't able to open their jaws with the same strength that they could shut them with, it wasn't Sunglass' fault. It wasn't.

"I can work with this, don't worry. You're doing amazing, Sun." The battle was at a standstill - Koko didn't have any moves that could make Sunglass faint, and Sunglass wasn't in any position to do any damage at all...

Sandile were ground type, and dark type. Sandile often lay still underneath sand with their jaws wide as a stunfisk, waiting for something to chomp on. Dark types were smart enough to go below the belt...

"Sunglass, dig!" The pokemon wasn't old enough to learn the actual move, but Sandile were born for digging. Saying otherwise was like saying pokemon who couldn't learn Bite or Crunch were unable to chew their food.

Baize and Boss forced their way out of their balls, watching the battle like a crowd in a Galarian gym.

Sunglass began kicking up the dirt beneath him, helped along by Koko's pushing him down. Soon, he was deep into the earth, no where to be seen. Koko twirled around with a confused chitter.

Electroreception wasn't all that helpful finding a ground type pokemon beneath the earth, as it turned out. Nanu waited for Sunglass to reappear with a baited breath, 

"Come back up and use Counter!" A lump appeared behind Koko, cracking open to reveal Sunglass launching out of it. 

Disproportionately large jaws bit down on Koko's torso with enough force that Nanu felt his ribs and spine snapping just looking at it.

"Koh!" The tapu cried, floating to the ground in defeat.

Nanu couldn't help the grin on his face - Koko probably let him win, type advantages were suggestions to legendaries, but he still _won_ , all thanks to Sapph's early sacrifice and Sunglass doing such a good job.

He said so to the pokémon, bringing him into a hug as formless praise fell from his lips. Nanu made a mental note to by the most expensive treats he could afford the moment he came across civilisation once more.

"That was amazing, cousin!" Nanu looked up to see a long haired boy standing a good fifteen metres back, mouth agape. 

He felt his cheeks blush red, losing his composure so much infront of someone... it was embarrassing, to say the absolute least.

Koko noticed the new presence and shot up, confirming Nanu's suspicion that he was allowed to win, swaying happily in greeting.

The other boy bowed, bright yellow robe creasing out of the way as he did. _Who the hell wore robes?_

"It is an honour to meet you, Tapu Koko." Nanu noticed the stufful trailing behind the boy, and felt a great deal of respect bloom in his chest. It took balls of steel to take a stufful from a bewear and come out alive.

The boy approached at a steady pace, permanent smile etched onto his face.

"I'm Hala, nice to meet you," A hand was outstretched.

"Nanu. Don't do contact with strangers." 'Hala' simply nodded in understanding, taking his hand away.

"I don't think I've ever heard of anyone defeating a Tapu without a Z ring, how did you do that?"

Nanu didn't know if the blush on his face was from embarrassment at being praised, or from Hala's cute face-

Ignore that last part. He did not think Hala was cute. Not at all. No one was cute. Shut up.

He pressed a pinky into his ear on reflex - such an easy way to tell how he's feeling. Nanu hated it. He noticed Koko watching the two from behind a tree. Damn childish.

"It's nothing special. Just happened to have a pokemon with a convenient typing and moveset, and Koko let me win... Really, nothing special..." Hala shook his head, crossing his arms.

"Nonsense, you're a fine trainer! Look, you've even have a sparkling stone!" Nanu glanced down to his pocket. He forgot that was there. Probably why Koko picked a fight, testing Bulu's judgement.

"Oh, right...do you know where I can find the Kahuna? It wasn't labelled on my map, and Iki town was my first guess." Nanu lied easily, pretending he knew how to read maps.

"If you don't mind sharing a charizard with me, I can take you right to her." Nanu nodded dumbly, noting how the stufful mimicked him eagerly over and over again.

"Aw, floofsie, look at you!" Hala cooed at the stufful, picking it up by the armpits like a baby.

Sweet arceus, cute (Shut. Up. Brain.) _and_ reacted to one of the most feared pokemon in the region the same way he does? Nanu suddenly understood what all the rage about being in love was about. (No he didn't, because he wasn't in love, because Hala wasn't cute.)

Doing his best to hide his swooning (That he wasnt. doing.), Nanu joined Hala on the back of a charizard after a few minutes wait.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nanu's team;  
> Sapph/Tourma, meowth ♀️  
> Sunglass, sandile ♂️  
> Boss, murkrow ♂️  
> Baize, absol ♂️
> 
> Hala's team:  
> Floofsie, Stufful ♂️  
> Flurry, mankey ♂️  
> Bambam, pancham ♀️
> 
> Note: This fic will not be catfightshipping endgame as of now, Nanu is just having his disaster gay awakening. He gets over his crush in like a week.


	5. Krokorock and roll

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sunglass has a sudden growth spurt and becomes a krokorok. Nanu is overjoyed! ...Until he realises that he has to buy a bigger pool.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone, my mental health is taking a nosedive right now, so i probably wont be able to update this until later. sorry for any inconveniences.

In the simplest possible terms, Nanu was excited. Sunglass had been spending more and more time in his sand pool, rubbing and rolling against the rocks strewn around it, and growing at a ridiculous rate.

This day was coming for a while, he knew that the moment Sunglass used Crunch for the first time. He couldn't wait to find out what he looked like as a krokorock!

Of course, then there was the massive dent in his savings that was the new pool he'd have to buy before the current one got too small. He hadn't battled too many trainers recently, and eight year olds weren't allowed to have jobs, which was just inconvenient. Yes, he was aware that child labour was illegal for a reason, shut _up, mum, stop lecturing me-_

His parents had given him enough judgemental looks the first time he came home with a kiddie pool and an armful of buckets of sand. Asking them for money wasn't happening.

But... his island challenge _had_ technically started back when Bulu tried to kill him via sparkling stone to heatstroked skull in Haina, so he could always go do the first set of trials, use the prize money for Sunglass' new pool, wait for him to finish evolving (technically metamorphosis but don't get him started on that), then do the grand trial.

That could work, but he'd have to buy all that travel equipment, and he didn't have a starter, any of which would be invaluable when living as a camper.

 _Wait a minute_ \- what was he talking about? He already half-lived in pokécentres, he didn't have to camp, and if he did at some point? He could sleep anywhere, on any surface, at any time. It was his defining feature, beyond the red eyes. Zinnia said he was like a snorlax.

He sighed from underneath his duvet, Sapph rising and falling on his ribs, as he weighed up his options. Cyclamen was rich, and wouldn't be opposed to a battle... no, he wouldn't sink that low. The horrible, awful urge was there, but he refused.

Sunglass gave a hefty yawn, stretching on his short legs. Nanu sat up, knowing any amount of time with the almost-krokorock would be spent massaging the growing pains away.

Boss glided over to Sunglass, cawing inquisitively at him, said caws turning concerned almost immediately. Nanu slid out of his bed, falling unceremonously by Sunglass' pool and began rubbing the sandile down, not bothering to keep his eyes open for long. Muscle memory kicked in, and Sunglass began letting out relieved crackles and ticks as his stretched scales and aching bones were finally given outside attention.

Nanu had small hands, so massaging Sunglass' pain away was a long task, but he'd do it for the entire day if it meant his little baby would spend even a second more not in pain.

Baize and Sapph remained snoring on his bed, Sapph only slightly perturbed by suddenly getting rolled off her personal furnace. They were curled against one another, just one more piece of evidence that people's notions of cat and dog pokemon not getting along were stupid. They hated each other in the same way every wild pokémon hates every wild pokémon.

Sunglass chittered happily at the attention, Boss analysing Nanu's every move as it made small talk to the sandile in front of him.

An hour later, hands rubbed raw and Sunglass snoozing happily beneath the sand, Nanu stood up finally. His spine cracked loud enough to wake up Baize and Sapph, a tired 'mrrr?' grabbing his attention. Boss hopped up to his shoulder as he made his way over.

"I'm having a shower, and then we're getting Sunglass a new bed, 'kay?" Sapph rumbled sleepily and curled back up, Baize following suit. Nanu sighed, gave the two some exhausted pets, and trudged off to the bathroom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nanu's team (not doing the gender symbols anymore i just cant be arsed):,  
> Sapph, meowth.  
> Sunglass, krokorock.  
> Boss, murkrow  
> Baize, absol.


	6. It's been a Hala've a ride

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Exploring Hala's and Nanu's friendship as Nanu does the first section of his island challenge.

"Alola, Nanu!" Hala's beaming face greeted him as he finally arrived on Melemele.

"'Lola." Boss soared down to say hi to Hala's team, squawking especially happily at Bambam the pancham and running his beak through the soft fur.

Nanu slid off Sunglass tiredly, Melemele's heat draining what little energy he had, and nearly collapsed into the dirt beneath his feet. When was the last time he drank water?

"What brings you to Melemele, cousin?" Hala looked torn between helping Nanu up and respecting the no contact thing they had going, ultimately deciding on the latter when Sunglass allowed his trainer to lean on him as he began walking.

"Island challenge." Nanu's sweat was boiling on his pale, sensitive, not-made-for-sun skin, and while he may hate the cold, he can't help but hate the heat more for what warmth usually meant for him. He needs to find some Tapu-damned sunscreen and fast.

"Cousin, you're _eight._ You have to be atleast eleven to do the challenge."

"Usually. Bulu made an exception." Hala's hums quietly, motioning for everyone to follow him with a tiny wave of his hand.

Nanu could barely see through the heat, but Sunglass and Baize made for great guides. 

Speaking of Baize, his horn was beginning to grow in, no longer a blunt nub, but now a long-ish curved bone covered in navy blue velvet. The sensing abilities were even kicking in as well! Nanu couldn't be prouder of his little absol, and his team were all excited for the newest addition to the family growing into its own abilities. 

Baize was already a lot bigger than he was when he was caught a few weeks ago, thanks to a steady supply of food and constant training, and was growing quickly despite his species medium-slow growth rate.

He mumbled something like that to Hala, a mix-and-match of random syllables switching between Alolan, Unovan, and Sinnohan that made sense to absolutely no one, who hummed in fake understanding a few steps ahead.

* * *

Hala was concerned for his friend. He knew Nanu had some rare condition that made the sun bad for him - albinism, was it? - and a general distase for all extreme weather, but he hadn't known it was this bad. His little friend was red as a crawdaunt, swaying on his feet with only a krokorock for support.

So, he had made the decision to take Nanu to his home in Iki town, and if Nanu decided not to drink any water while there, he had a stufful that was absolutely willing to hold the boy down until he did.

He was not above forcing young idiots into caring for themselves. They had to set examples for the pokemon under their care, after all.

Nanu trips over his own feet from behind him, letting go of Sunglass and stumbling right into Hala. He felt a light thud against his back, then heard a louder one from the floor, followed by a chorus of concerned cries.

Turning around, he saw Nanu's face somehow getting even redder as he attempted to get back up, but was so flustered that his limbs refused to listen.

Hala was not above forcing young idiots into caring for themselves. Not at all.

"...Are you okay?" Failing to keep the amusement out of his voice, Nanu stared up at him for a few moments before letting out a squeak that was weirdly low-pitched, scrambling back into his krokorock.

Baize growled quietly at Nanu in confusion, nudging into his trainers hand. Nanu protested quietly at nothing, shakily standing up and leaning heavily into Sunglass, who looked about ready to evolve again right then and there just so he could carry the small boy. Hala related. There were only so many things you could do when you were small. Nanu ignored those limitations out of spite. It was as amusing as it was inspiring.

"Tapu's, I should have brought my tauros. You look like you're going to pass out!"

"...F'l like 'm g'nna..." Nanu slurred out, somehow keeping to one language through sheer luck. Boss hopped up on his trainer's shoulders and brought his wings over Nanu's forehead. The sigh that the boy let out was so relieved that Hala felt himself relax a tiny bit.

"Oh dear. How long do you think you'll manage?"

Nanu looked up at hin with dazed, blank eyes, fighting the uphill battle that was processing speech, and replying with an extremely graceful 'hah?' before collapsing into Sunglass' side. 

The concern Hala felt turned to panic in a moment. Rushing to his friends side, feeling the heat radiating off his once pale skin.

"I- Nanu, I'm going to have to carry you. Is that okay?"

Nanu groaned out something Hala hoped was an affirmative, and was lifted up into the older boy's arms.

* * *

All Nanu could remember before being unceremoniously dropped onto a large, comfy sofa was falling over and being picked up, staring at Hala's face as the other boy's warm arms tightly clinging to him forced him to fall asleep.

Warm... warm touch... The kind he never got from his parents... it was amazing, but almost completely foreign and if Nanu wasn't careful, he'd get addicted to the safety and calm that came with being touched by someone you trusted-

-Come to think of it, he already was. He can't think of a single moment he's spent in the last year without maintaining some form of contact with a member of his team. Boss or Sapph perched on his shoulder. Baize and Sunglass nestled on his arms or on his lap.

...He didn't want to think about what that meant. Not when Hala was sitting next to him with worry evident on his face.

"Water." A bottle was pressed into his hand. Nanu brought it to his forehead and revelled in the blissful cool that invaded his head.

"...Not going to drink it?"

"No? Water tastes awful."

"Water doesn't have a taste, cousin, are you okay?"

Nanu took a moment to savour to life working its way back into his limbs,

"It does, you just can't taste it because you're not a freak like me."

Hala sputtered, sitting up straight.

"Nanu!"

Said boy merely looked blankly up at his friend, bored eyes asking what his mouth refused to, an eyebrow twitching up. 

"You shouldn't talk about yourself like that, Nanu."

Nanu takes a moment to process what Hala just said. A beat passes.

"...You people confuse me." 

Nanu doesn't _need_ to be normal, but he'd appreciate it if normal people at least tried to make sense. Hala makes more sense than most regular people, tied with Cyclamen, with Zinnia making the most. His parents made the least by a large margin, but he'd prefer not to think about the implications of that while trying not to evaporate.

Hala looked lost in thought for a brief moment, then with a soft sigh he spoke again,

"Constantly talking down on yourself makes your brain believe the bad comments, that's why you shouldn't do it."

Nanu was going to be a freak whether or not he verbalised it, so none of what Hala says actually settles in his brain as something to take as advice, but he nods along anyway to save Hala the hassle of putting up with him longer than necessary.

"...Now that that's over with, I'm really not going to drink this. Plain water just tastes weird to me."

"I have lemonade?"

" **Yes**." His tone comes off far more forceful and enthusiastic than he intended, Nanu realises as he speaks, but the idea of a cool, refreshing drink of not-water overrid his usual barriers.

[WIP]


	7. birthday boy.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nanu exists. His friends insist that is a cause for celebration.
> 
> AN: IM SORRY FOR TAKING SO LONG TO UPDATE. MY MENTAL HEALTH TOOK A NOSEDIVE AND I FORGOT TIME WAS A THING AND ONLY JUST NOTICED ITS BEEN A MONTH

"Happy Birthday!" Were the first words to come out of Cyclamen's mouth, shoving a cardboard box into Nanu's arms. He swayed from the extra weight and heat in the room.

"Me and Zin' worked on that together, so you better appreciate it!" The last part of the sentence were punctuated with a joking waggle of a finger, a wide and bright grin splitting his face in too.

Nanu wondered what it was like to be able to smile freely like that as he carefully sat down and set the box, decorated with marker pens and tape (Cyclamen didn't see the point in wrapping paper), down on the library floor. His tiny, scuffed and torn hands gingerly pulled the top flaps up and away from eachother, reavealing-

 _Revealing_ -

Nanu forced the tears away, blinking and holding his eyes shut.

Not that many people knew that the Kahuna - bitch as she was - had refused to give him a z crystal when he beat her, claiming flyinium would be useless for a kid with just dark types. Boss was right there.

The memory made him angry.

_The box-_

A darkinium z crystal. Darkinium was hard to come by, especially for stupid little civilians like Nanu, because there were no dark type kahunas or captains, which meant only Zinna's ingenuity and Cyclamen's regal status would be able to net such an item. (Maybe Hala helped too, but they hadn't been friends long enough for tye other boy to care about his birthday, right?)

It was made of deep shadowy blacks, highlighted by pure white where it caught the light best, all sharp angles and crisp lines. 

"So... do you like it?"

Nanu replied by launching off the ground and tackling Cyclamen with a hug. He could hardly remember the last time his parents got him a birthday gift at all, let alone one this... this... too many words came to mind, none of which having the right nuances.

Stick thin arms wrapped around him, squeezing gently but securely, and all was right with the world for a few brief seconds before Nanu's brain caught up with his body.

He, the _BIGGEST_ enforcer of personal boundaries and 'ask first' in all of Alola had just violently grabbed someone without warning- A small part of his brain said it was fine, that Cyclamen was a friend who trusted him and boundaries barely existed between them by their standards, but he ignored the part of his brain for reasons he didn't know.

He detached himself from Cyclamen, not wanting the _nicewarmsecure_ sensation of the embrace to send tingly feelings throughout him any longer, but it persisted, even growing in intensity with no physical barrier to keep a lid on the pins and needles.

"I'm guessing you like it?" Cyclamens dumb, stupid face had a dumb, stupid smile that was barely there and the only thing that was at the same time. He looked like he knew something Nanu didn't.

"Obviously, you komala-brain."

* * *

Zinnia didn't say anything when Nanu walked up to her, failing to hide the blush creeping up his cheeks, with too-large-darkinium in a too-small-hand.

"...Thank you."

The girl just looked at him with a smile in her eyes - the only type of smile that ever reached them - and shook her head gently.

"It's nothing. Happy birthday, Kuchin."

 _It's **everything**_ , he wanted to reply.

A smile stretched on Nanu's face, the unfamiliar movement slightly painful. That moment with Baize on Lanakila was the only time he could recall smiling so wide, if only because the cold numbed his face enough that he couldn't feel the strain.

He doesn't voice that factoid to anyone.

"If you say so, Zin'."

[WIP]


End file.
